The state Legislative session achieved progress in the battle against Lyme disease, said Sen. Betty Little, who represents eastern St. Lawrence County

Little cited two bills approved by lawmakers to improve public awareness of the disease and funding for an ongoing Lyme disease research project.

“Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose and very challenging to treat,” said Little, R-Queensbury. “It’s an insidious infection and many people are unaware they’ve been exposed until they begin to exhibit serious complications. Early treatment is very important to avoid a long-term health problem, but clearly the best we can do at this point is to be vigilant in guarding against exposure.”

Little represents the 45th Senate District, which includes Parishville, Colton and Hopkinton, co-sponsored two bills passed by the Senate and Assembly (S.5803a and S.5804a) aimed at increasing public awareness.

The first bill would require the Department of Health to design a Lyme and tick-borne disease prevention program to promote awareness of the disease and inform communities. The program would include: prevention methods, including the safe use of recommended insect repellents; best practices for tick removal; recommendations for the reduction of exposure to ticks; and the appropriate course of action once a tick is removed. Little said the Department of Health has a history of sponsoring public awareness for a variety of diseases, disorders and conditions.

The second measure would direct the Departments of Education, Health and Environmental Conservation to develop instructional tools and materials to assist in the education and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and tick-borne infections. Age appropriate resources and materials would help school age children learn to help identify ticks, provide procedures for safe removal and best practices for protection from ticks. The materials would be available to schools and libraries at no cost and available upon request.

Both bills are pending consideration by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

A third bill (S.7777) would require the New York State Health Care Quality and Cost Containment Commission to submit a report on the impact of providing insurance coverage for Lyme and other tick-borne related diseases by May 1, 2017.

The legislation passed the Senate June 14 but was not voted on in the Assembly. Currently, health insurance companies are not required to cover long-term treatment for those who suffer from chronic Lyme or other related diseases. Rhode Island and Connecticut have passed legislation which requires that Lyme disease be covered by insurance.

A member of the Senate’s Task Force on Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases, Little was successful in securing $75,000 this year for the continuation of a Lyme disease collaborative study by the Trudeau Institute, Adirondack Health, New York State Department of Health, Clarkson University, State University of New York at Plattsburgh and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LIAI, Ja Jolla, CA).

The third year of the study will be lead by Dr. Jonathan Krant of Adirondack Health and will include a comparison of Lyme arthritis patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients to examine the role of Natural Killer T (NKT) cells in the process of killing and clearance of B. burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease.

The working hypothesis is that individuals who suffer Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome may have defects in the functionality of their NKT cells, making them incapable of clearing the bacteria from their joints. If true, strategies to enhance the effectiveness of NKT cells in this vulnerable patient population could dramatically improve their clinical outcomes and quality of life.